Page 116 of Beautiful Chances

Even if I did, then what? I’m in no fucking state to fight or take flight. No, as much as it pains me, for now, I need to stay put and see what happens next. Yeah, remaining right here on the floor seems like the best idea. For now.

I’m awoken by the soft click of the door being unlocked, my eyes fluttering open, and I’m looking straight at… “Kas? Is that really you?” I lick my dry lips, trying to ascertain if it’s a mirage or if my brother is really standing in front of me.

“CJ, get in here!” Kas calls before rushing to my side. “What the fuck? This is not what I imagined. I thought he would… Never mind, let’s get you up.” Judging by the concern in his voice, I am pretty sure my beauty sleep didn’t work.

“Alec? Alec, can you sit up?” CJ’s face appears above me.

Groaning, I stumble to my feet, feeling dizzy as soon as I’m upright. “This is nothing,” I try to convince him. “You should see the other guy.”

“Leave the jokes to me, yours are horrible.” At least Kas is smiling now—well, not exactly smiling—but he looks less worried, so it can’t be all bad then.

“Where the hell have you guys been?” I ask as if they were late for something. “You let me have all the fun by myself,” I add, trying to sound less accusatory.

CJ mumbles something about me needing to shut the fuck up, then he pulls my arm around his shoulders. On my other side, Kas does the same, and together they haul me into the adjoining bedroom. Despite how careful they are, every step is painful, and I stumble so many times I lose count.

“Jesus, you’re a fucking sight.” Even though there’s no bite in Kas’ words, I feel shitty. I don’t do pathetic or vulnerable, yet somehow I’m both right now. “What happened to you? I mean, fuck! Alec, don’t you ever do this to us again. Like, what the fuck is wrong with you?”

Through my swollen eyes, I watch Kas lose it. He’s kicking everything within his vicinity, all the while shouting and telling me off for disappearing. There’s something touching about seeing my normally levelheaded brother not just lose it but also yelling at me.

“That’s enough, Kas,” CJ speaks up, clearly over seeing the room being torn apart.

I try to reach for CJ, but my arm feels like it weighs a fucking ton right now. Giving up, I lean back on the bed they placed me on. As I close my eyes, I mumble, “Leave him alone.” If Kas needs to destroy this room to feel better, then who are we to stop him?

When Kas finally calms down enough to stop punishing the innocent items within reach, I croak, “I’m sorry, Kas. I didn’t mean to leave, but I’m sorry all the same.” He isn't angry at me or accusing me of bailing on them. I’ve lost my shit enough times to know he’s had a tight grip on himself, and said grip is now slipping.

“Don’t fucking apologize to me you… Asshat.” The half-assed insult makes me laugh so hard it quickly turns into coughs and groans of pain. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, don’t laugh when you’re hurt. Seriously, what the hell are we going to do with you?”

“Missed you too,” I croak, lifting my hand enough to flip him off.

The mattress dips as CJ sits down next to me. “You scared us,” he simply says.

What the hell is this? Bad cop/worse cop?

“I’m sorry about that, especially since it’s been such a great time for me.” Yeah, I know they don’t deserve my attitude, but what the hell? It’s not as if I took a leisurely stroll and got held up by rainbows and fucking kittens.

“Right, right… We already know. Steve has been keeping us up to date.” This gets my attention, and I raise my eyebrow, wanting CJ to keep talking. “Well, fuck, this is awkward….”

Sighing, I push myself up and lean against the wall for support. “Just spit it out. I don’t know how long we have, and we need to come up with a plan to find Baby.”

“We’ll explain everything while you get something to eat and drink,” CJ says, walking over to the table in the middle of the room. I can’t see what he’s doing, but the smell of food as he comes back makes my stomach growl. “Here, you need to eat.”

I look down at the container in front of me. It’s filled with food I would normally never even consider eating, but right now, it looks and smells like a feast fit for a king. With a satisfied hum, I bite into the meaty burger, shoving fries into my mouth at the same time.

“She’s here,” Kas says as he sits down on the edge of the bed. “Luis is under the belief that Steve is working for him, but he’s not. He’s working with Martin from the inside, feeding him intel almost hourly.”

I wince as I cough, my ribs protesting the jarring movement. “One of you fuckers better start at the beginning and keep talking.” I’m so not in the mood for this half-story bullshit.

While I wait for one of them to continue their story, I demolish the food in front of me. Burgers and fries that are so fucking greasy, it drips down my fingers and chin. Something that would make me balk under normal circumstances.

“Steve used to be employed by Luis, a mole our German friend managed to sneak into Martin’s business. We don’t know the exact ins and outs. All we know is that Martin didn’t find out until Steve came to him. Steve offered to work for him instead, and somehow he earned Martin’s trust.” CJ stops talking, looking at me with concern. “I really think we need to check you out, you could have a concussion or something.”

After taking a large sip of the soda in my hand, I wave him off. “I’m sure I do, but that can wait. Continue the story.”

Kas clears his throat and picks up the story. “Well, as you can imagine, Luis didn’t like losing his mole, or that Martin used him. When the two met again, Steve swore up and down that he’d remained loyal to Luis—trying to excuse it all by saying he did it so he wouldn’t break his cover by not following Martin’s orders. Even though I don’t know for sure, it sounds like Luis bought some of the story, at least enough to keep his mole around. Only…”

“Luis cut out Steve’s tongue. He’s a mute now. He can only communicate through writing or grunts.” After CJ finishes, it takes me a hot second to catch up.

“No fucking way,” I spit. “Steve, is the mute who’s been beating the crap out of me?” When both my brothers nod, I feel my temper rising.

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